Ezekiel 32:24

My Notes

What Does Ezekiel 32:24 Mean?

"There is Elam and all her multitude round about her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which are gone down uncircumcised into the nether parts of the earth, which caused their terror in the land of the living; yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the pit." Ezekiel 32 catalogs the nations in Sheol — the underworld — who preceded Egypt in death. Elam, Assyria, Meshech, Tubal, Edom, Sidon — all mighty empires now lying in their graves, surrounded by their armies. The phrase "which caused their terror in the land of the living" is repeated for each nation: they were terrifying above ground. Below ground, they bear their shame.

The passage creates a tour of the underworld as a gallery of fallen empires — each displayed with their dead soldiers, each carrying the shame of their defeat into eternity.

Reflection Questions

• 1.What earthly power seems terrifying now that will eventually 'bear its shame' in the pit?
• 2.How does the gallery of fallen empires in Sheol reframe your view of current world powers?
• 3.What does the phrase 'caused their terror in the living, bore their shame in the pit' teach about the arc of human power?
• 4.Where are you intimidated by something that's already on its way to the pit?

Devotional

There is Elam. All her dead. Slain. In the pit. The empire that terrified the living is now a display in the underworld's gallery of failures.

Ezekiel takes Egypt on a tour of Sheol: look around. There's Elam with her armies — dead, shamed, in the pit. There's Assyria — the empire that conquered the world — now surrounded by graves. There's Meshech and Tubal. There's Edom. There's Sidon. Every terrifying power from the land of the living is down here, carrying their shame, surrounded by the corpses of their soldiers.

Which caused their terror in the land of the living. Each nation gets this epitaph: they terrified people. Above ground, their names made cities tremble. Their armies made nations surrender without fighting. Their power was the defining feature of their era. And now they're in a hole. Carrying shame. Surrounded by the dead.

The contrast is the message: what terrified the living shames the dead. The power that was impressive above ground is humiliating below ground. The empire that made others tremble now trembles under the weight of its own failure. Terror and shame are the same nation — just at different stages of the timeline.

Egypt is being told: this is where you're heading. Look at your predecessors. Look at the empires that came before you and that you modeled yourself after. They're here. In the pit. Carrying shame. And you're about to join them.

Every empire in history has a reservation in this gallery. The terrifying power of every era eventually becomes the shamed exhibit of the next. The pit is patient. It collects them all. And the shame they bear — the shame of having caused terror and then being reduced to a grave — is carried forever.

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture